The William Woods University men's basketball team looks to build on its best conference start in school history on Thursday night as they travel to Park University for an American Midwest Conference matchup. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
The Matchup
The Owls are 5-0 in the AMC for the first time in school history. The five-game conference winning streak has pushed WWU back to the .500 mark at 9-9 on the season.
The Pirates are 3-2 in the AMC with wins over Missouri Baptist (96-66), Lyon College (95-84) and Harris-Stowe (72-61). Park has won four of its last six games and is 9-7 on the year.
Park University holds a small advantage over the Owls in points per game (71.4-70.9) and shoot slightly better (.437-428) from the floor. William Woods has the edge behind the arc (.360-.290) and averages 2.5 more three-pointers made per game than the Pirates (7.0- 4.5).
Each team has had its struggles at the line this season, but William Woods holds a slim lead (.671-.653) over Park University at the charity stripe.
The two teams are almost identical in rebounds per game with William Woods clinging to a 38.7-38.4 lead.
William Woods is holding its opponents to 67.8 points per game on .427 shooting from the field and Park University is giving up 71.4 points per game and has allowed teams to shoot .441 from the floor.
Last Time Out
William Woods had a historic night on Tuesday as they tied the school record for most points in game with a 103-55 victory over Williams Baptist to extend its best conference start in school history to 5-0.
The Owls had five players score double-digits, led by
Logan Decker's 16-point performance.
Jonathon Nutt and
Seth Thomas each had 15 points,
D.J. Hoskins chipped in 13 points and
Blake Burgess's 12-point performance rounded out the group.
WWU started out the game with a 9-0 run and never looked back as they raced to the 48-point victory.
First Place In The AMC
The Owls have a half-game lead over no. 1 Columbia College for first place in the AMC.
The Rout Is On
William Woods set the tone early with a 9-0 run out of the gate against Williams Baptist on Thursday en route to a 103-55 victory. The 48-point victory is the largest for the Owls on the season and was the largest margin of victory since a 63-point win (103-40) over St. Louis Christian on Dec. 12, 2009.
A Black Star Export
Hailing from the African country of Ghana,
Daniel Armah has been a lifelong fan of the Ghana national soccer team, referred to as 'The Black Stars'. Not only is Armah a fan but he is a talented soccer player as well.
However, Armah is more talented in basketball. The 6-6 forward has been a force for the Owls since returning at the end of the first semester. Since his return he has averaged 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and has collected four double-doubles on the year. Armah just had a three-game double-double streak snapped on Tuesday.
Will It Work In Peoria?
D.J. Hoskins and
Demarius Sumrell have both made an immediate impact for the Owls this year. The Peoria, Ill., natives have each stepped up into a leadership position for WWU this year. Hoskins averages 11.8 points per game on the year, good for third-best, while Sumrell leads the team with 19 steals.
Hitting From Downtown
The Owls hold a small margin in three-point shooting, with a .360 make rate to just a .335 pace for its opponents. The offensive pace is good for 29th in the country.
William Woods hit a season-high 12 three point field goals in their 81-64 win over Haskell Indian Nations University.
Seth Thomas led the way for the Owls with his 5-of-6 performance behind the arc en route to a career-high 21 points, and is connecting at a .329 pace in his 14 games on the year.
D.J. Hoskins is also having a solid year, ranking 46th in the country with a .412 make rate from downtown.
On The Boards
The Owls rank 28th in the nation in total rebounds with 697 and 29th in total rebounds per game with 38.7 caroms per contest.
WWU is ranked 34th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (26.222) and 36th in offensive rebounds per game (12.500).
Adding To His Record
Already the school's all-time leading scorer,
Logan Decker added 16 more points to his total in Saturday's 73-61 win over Lyon College. Decker has accumulated 1,491 in his career and is nine points short of becoming the school's first 1,500-point scorer.
Mix And Match
The Owls have done a bit of juggling in the starting lineup throughout the early part of the season, with 11 different players starting at least one game for WWU.
Logan Decker has been the only constant, starting all 18 games on the year for head coach
Nick Totta.
Since the start of conference play on Jan. 3 at Benedictine University at Springfield, coach Totta has gone with the same starting lineup of
Daniel Armah,
Logan Decker,
D.J. Hoskins,
Roy McElroy and
Jonathon Nutt.
A Look At Park University
The Pirates stand at 9-7 overall on the year and are 3-2 in AMC contests with wins over Missouri Baptist (96-66), Lyon College (95-84) and Harris-Stowe (72-61). Park University has won four of its last six games.
Venton Wilder leads a quartet of double-digit scorers for Park University. The 6-2 junior leads the Pirates in points per game with 12.3. Nigel Van Oostrum is second on the team with a 10.7 ppg pace, Melvin Rowe chips in 10.3 points per game and Noel Surles' 10.0 points per contest rounds out the group.
Rowe is the team's leading rebounder with 7.1 caroms per game. The 6-4 forward has had three games this season where he has collected double-digit rebounds.
Park has given up the same amount of points per game as they average at 71.4 ppg., but has collectively scored one more point on the year than its opposition. The Pirates shoot .437 from the floor with Rowe's .519 leading the way on 67-of-129 attempts.
The Pirates have struggled behind the arc as they only shoot .290 from three-point land. Wilder has hit a team-high 20 threes on 68 attempts on the year for a .294 pace. Marcus Johnson is the most accurate shooter for the Pirates, hitting at a .333 pace on the year, although he only has 10 makes to his credit in 30 tries. Josh Lewis (.313/5-16) and Xavielle Brown (.297/11-37) are also above the team average on the year.
